Following on from the shit articles about how music festivals will focus on the usual informing women they can be raped and how to keep themselves 'safe', Ellie Cumbo writes today in the Guardian about how festivals can be part of the fight against misogyny and belief of entitlement held by rapists:
Exerpt:
'But perhaps the specific nature of a festival actually offers an extraordinary opportunity. Ethical messages are already a staple feature of festival culture, where environmental sustainability is often promoted almost as strongly as the line up, for example through this year's 10:10 festival partnerships. If we have found here a context in which people are receptive to being challenged about what they can do to reduce noxious fumes, why not ask them to help tackle poisonous attitudes to women too? Why not create a festival-focused campaign encouraging people to challenge harassment, groping and worse when they see it? If the communitarian spirit that defines festivals can be tapped in this way, the impact may even be felt beyond the campsite boundary.
Of course neither festival organisers nor festival-goers can defeat the deep-seated sexual entitlement that leads some individuals to rape. But if we all agreed to leave our tolerance of misogynistic behaviour at the gates with the alcohol; now that would be a weekend to remember.'
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/21/latitude-rape-festival-culture